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Loyola University Chicago lost in an upset to Bradley University at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in Saint Louis Saturday.

It was a shock for the Ramblers, who finished first in the conference during a regular season that followed their historic run to the Final Four last year.

Bradley, who went on to win the conference tournament, entered the game as a fifth seed. Loyola, the top seed easily beat Valparaiso Friday.

Bradley’s strong defense proved to be a challeng for the Rambler’s offense, which struggled. The Braves were able to block down numerous scoring attempts from Loyola’s star players, particularly sophomore Cameron Krutwig and senior Marques Townes.

Earlier in the week, Townes was awarded the MVC Larry Bird player of the year. It’s the highest award in the conference, and was given based on his exceptional performance in a season season in which he led the MVC with a scoring average of 18.1 points a game. However, Townes managed only

seven points against Bradley. Krutwig was the second runner-up for this award but also failed to score as expected against the Braves, potting six points.

In the post-game press conference, head coach Porter Moser acknowledged the team’s disappointment on this loss, saying, “I’m not going to ask them not to hurt. They’ve invested too much to do that.”

Meanwhile, last year’s conference Player of the Year and senior Clayton Custer spoke of his appreciation for the Rambler fan base who made the trip down to Saint Louis to show support for the team.

“I appreciate all of our fans coming out. Obviously we did not do what we came out to do… that hurts a lot.”

Loyola will now wait to see where they will play in the 2019 National Invitational Tournament next week.

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Earlier this month marked the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which many historians point to as the starting point of the Holocaust.

Dr. Elliot Lefkovitz was Director of Education at Am Yisrael Congregation for approximately 30 years and is now a professor at Loyola University Chicago. He led a discussion commemorating the historical event and its aftermath.

Elliot started with an apology.

“I’m just sorry that we’re here on another day that we have to mourn the victims of senseless gun violence, and the question is when will it ever end,” he said, referring to the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Elliot talked about the growing rise of anti-Semitism, and gave gave tribute to each of the 11 victims in Pittsburgh, highlighting their achievements and personal qualities.

Elliot also read first-hand accounts from German Jews from the horrific “Night of Broken Glass.’ Many of them described the terrors and screams that flooded the streets that night when the Nazis beat, raped, burned, and destroyed the Jewish communities. Jewish shops’ windows were smashed and vandalized with anti-Semitic symbols. The Nazis didn’t even let the dead rest in peace as they attacked Jewish cemeteries.

Ninety-one Jews were either murdered or committed suicide that night, and the Nazis arrested 30,000 Jewish men and sent them to concentration camps. Around 1,000 of them died there.

Elliot took care to mention the courageous Germans who did try to help and protect the Jewish people at the time.

Elliot also talked about the voyage of the Jewish refugees on the ship St. Louis. He said they were hopeful that the United States would take them in, but they were mistaken.Although 12,000 Jews were allowed into the United States on temporary visas, the American public opinion, surveyed at the time, showed that around 83% of Americans were against letting any more refugees into the country.

Elliot stated how some Americans believed that Jews would ruin American ideals and overrun the country.

Elliot presented a film called “The Voyage of the St. Louis,” which he helped create for Loyola and the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. He explained how they found as many survivors of the St. Louis as possible to interview for it. The survivors talked about their experiences on the St. Louis and footage from the voyage was shown.

Dr. Elliot concluded the discussion with the words from Elie Wiesel.

“The opposite of love is not hate, the opposite of love is indifference. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest injustice. Therefore, we must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. There is nothing so sad as silence.”

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Loyola University’s Women’s soccer team won a hard-fought game against Drake and the chilly November rain at Hoyne Park Sunday, winning the Missouri Valley Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

The game-winning goal came in the 35th minute of the second half, with Kat Stephens knocking it in. The Loyola defense was able to hold the rest of the way, and the boistrous crowd let out a big cheer when the final whistle blew.

Other Rambler goals were scored by Jenna Szczesny and Abby Swanson.

“It was definitely a battle of wills,” Loyola Head Coach Barry Bimbi said after the game. “They (Drake) are so strong defensively … and obviously we are pretty prolific offensively, but it was definitely a great game for the fans.”

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Loyola junior defender Madison Laudeman. “You come in, you work so hard you work from the summer, these seniors have been working for four years, this is the moment you always want when you come into play college soccer so to just to get that it’s amazing”.

Stephens said the team is now looking ahead to the NCAA tournament.

“We have enough talent to be able to compete, be able to win the the Valley and now being able to go to the NCAA we can compete with whoever we play agains,” she said.

This will be the Loyola’s women’s soccer team’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007.

Rogers Park and Edgewater soccer fans might want to circle Friday, Nov. 2. That’s when the top-seeded Loyola University women’s team will take the field at the corner of Hoyne and Devon, opening the Missouri Valley Conference championship tournament as the top seed.

Loyola clinched its first-ever regular-season top finish, with a 6-1 win over Evansville Thursday.

“It’s a great step forward for the program,” head coach Barry Bimbi said. “I think we were in a different position this year, playing every game with a target on (our) back, but the administration had faith in us and our girls they did a tremendous job.”

Thursday’s game, held at the school’s soccer field at 6336 N. Hoyne, started fast for the Ramblers.

“They put on pressure early,” said Loyola student Tyler Sisko, who was at the game. “That’s why they are winning.”

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Civic engagement isn’t the first subject you expect to hear about from a typical group of middle schoolers. But a group of Rogers Park and Edgewater young people were happy doing just that on a recent visit to their summer classroom.

“Civic engagement is getting involved in the community and helping those who need the most help,” said Burabari Denuate, 14. “Sometimes there’s others who have the power to make a difference, but really don’t take it.”

Gregory Wade, 14, described civic engagement as being “a place where people can come and express themselves and learn how to be better leaders… it’s important because we’re the next generation.”

The students are part of an After School Matters program on civil leadership. Based on the Loyola University campus, it is being offered to Rogers Park and Edgewater middle school students from five neighborhood schools.

“I really think this program is a great introduction to students about civic engagement and how they can identify within themselves what their civic identity is and be able to have the tools and resources to be able to create change,” said Saeed Rose, one of the program’s instructors.

The students all have the opportunity to create change within their schools. Each of the five schools worked together to compose a plan that they hope brings positive change in a particular area.

For example, Aiden Murphy, 13, explained that the Kilmer group will be working on improving the bathrooms. Likewise, Danitzy Rosillo, 12, told us that the Swift group wanted to focus on the issue of students disrespecting teachers.

Dezyr Smith, 13, said that the Pierce group will be focusing on what she described as “drama” in their school, referring to a variety of issues like bullying, gossip, and fighting.

“Drama as in any type of way that students interact with each other in a negative way,” she said.

Pierce was not the only school to choose drama for their plan. Denuate said the Field group was focusing on something similar.

Rose said the program is not about simply solving a problem. It’s about making a positive, lasting impact on the world around them.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to build something organic and continue to grow,” said Rose, “and the experience will always stick with them. We’ve created a space for them to really be able to share and express how they feel about issues in their society.”

“My favorite part is being able to come together and discuss,” said Smith. “Because it makes students feel like they are in their school community. I recommend it to other students who want to make a change… and I feel like this program really makes a difference.”

A strong rip current claimed the life of Darihanne Torres, of the 7400 block of N. Damen. She was pronounced dead at about 10:15 Friday. A second girl was pulled from the water and stabilized. A 43-year-old man who helped rescue the survivor was also pulled from the choppy waters.

A vigil is planned for 6 p.m., Monday, July 9 at Loyola Beach. Attendees are encouraged to bring candles, balloons and posters.

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After School Matters (ASM) is a seasonal program for teens, ages 14-18. ASM offers a wide variety of programs in a wide diversity of subjects and gives students stipends for their work.

There are over 23,000 program opportunities throughout different Chicago neighborhoods. These programs range from photography, journalism, music production, health and nutrition, and many more. Teens also have the chance to take on different roles – being an apprentice, advanced apprentice, assistantship, and even interns.

ASM teaches teens all over Chicago hands-on job skills for the future. The instructors are very well trained and experienced.

I spoke to a few teens that have joined the ASM family on how the program has affected their lives.

“It’s a positive impact on kids especially me. It’s almost like a real job, you experience how to be more responsible,” Jose Lopez from program Sports 37 said.

“ASM really helped me come out of my shell and I learned how to be more confident because of ASM,” Mia Aguilar, from program HHW vocal ensemble said.

“ASM has given me the opportunity to meet people from all over Chicago,” said Shrdha Shrestha, from programs HHW Vocal Art Ensemble and COT at Senn said.

“The program is tight-knit and will always welcome you with open arms. Even after you leave, you will forever be part of the family”.

This summer RogersEdge Reporter will join the ASM family. The student reporters will learn how to write articles and make videos based on local news around the neighborhoods of Edgewater and Rogers Park.

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In April, while some Loyola University Chicago community members were riding high on school spirit as the Ramblers made it into the Final Four, many others weren’t so happy with Loyola.

After over two years of contract negotiations with the University for higher wages, job security, and benefits, some Loyola faculty, working with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73, orchestrated a full day strike. This was in response to an 11-hour provision the University brought to the negotiations table on April 3rd which would have supposedly undermined all of the progress made with the new contract.

For years, several schools across the country have slowly shifted away from employing full-time and tenure-track educators and toward hiring adjunct faculty.

What Caused This Unrest?

Faculty expressed concern about paying benefits to their full-time and qualifying part-time educators when costs come up that require a monetary cutback. Being able to fire and hire people on a semester per semester basis allows hiring flexibility when unforeseen enrollment numbers or recessions come around.

“[Universities] can’t offer contracts that could result in having to raise tuition. That would be cutting off our nose to spite our face,” Rev. Tom Regan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola, told the Washington Post.

At the same time, Loyola plans to build an $18.5 million practice facility which will pull $2 million from university capital and ultimately raise tuition prices.

By hiring part-time educators, colleges and universities are able to save money on salaries, benefits, professional development, retirement, etc. This means that 76 percent of college instructors are part-time. For a business model, this makes sense, but for educators living from part-time wages with no benefits, it seems unfair.

According to a report from the American Association of University Professors, between 1975 and 2011, adjunct or part-time faculty appointments have increased by 300 percent. The pay, however, has remained relatively stagnant. An adjunct professor’s median pay per course in 2010 was $2,700, according to a report by the Coalition of Academic Workforce.

An adjunct instructor for Loyola’s English department, Alyson Paige Warren, warns “non-tenured track or adjuncts make up 61 percent of the teaching faculty, [the University] has been exploiting that.” Having wiggle room for educators with a poor performance is one thing, but creating “disposable faculty” is another.

What’s Next?

Fine Arts Instructor Sarita Heer said she thinks unionization of college faculty is imminent.

“Unionization is going to happen, across the United States and universities. They’re moving away from tenure-track positions, it’s not just Loyola it’s everyone and it’s very much a financial decision,” Heer said.

In 2014, SEIU launched several campaigns in hopes of attracting more college faculty to join or create local sections on their campuses. In 2016, William A. Herbert, executive director at the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education, reported a 30 percent increase in faculty bargaining units, compared to the preceding four years.

Just this year there have been faculty across Pennsylvania and Colorado have stricken and marched to demand better pay for primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators. With the growing push for unionization at colleges and universities, we can only expect to see more.

College educators have been fighting for better rights for decades and the fight isn’t over.

“We hope Loyola admin wants to make Loyola a great place to be and to teach,” Warren said. “This isn’t a group of people being pushed into action, we all want better.”